


Star Trek Prompts (Tumblr)

by pherryt



Series: Tumblr Ficlets [17]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Academy Years, Angst, Away Mission Gone Wrong, Canon Divergent, Confessions, First Kiss, Hurt!Jim, M/M, Misunderstandings, Starfleet Academy, angry kiss, bones in denial, shuttlecraft issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-29 23:19:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14483424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pherryt/pseuds/pherryt
Summary: Bones has had a long day and comes back to his and Jim's shared dorm-room at the Academy to find it's a mess. This is the last straw... why'd he ever think it'd be a good idea to room with the kid?





	1. Angry Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> Series of short star trek stories - each chapter is a seperate story
> 
> Done for one of the Kiss Prompts on tumblr for Dmsilvis and was about 1500 words. i really liked this one

Leonard H. McCoy had had it.

One James T. Kirk had got on his last nerve for the last time.

Why the hell had he agreed to let the kid be his roommate at the academy anyway? Goddamnit, Leonard was just a pushover.

 _Okay, now be fair,_ he grumbled internally _. It had seemed a good idea at the time and even usually, not a bad one. There were just…bad…days._   It had become apparent, even drunk, that both him  _and_ Jim had been fish out of water from the moment they sat together on the shuttle. Leonard was too old for this shit and Jim was…not the poster boy Starfleet had been looking for. So it had only made  _sense_  at the time to take Jim up on his offer.

But now…they’d been at the Academy for almost three years. Thanks to years of Medical Schooling and loads of experience back in his home town, Leonard was able to take the same accelerated classes that Jim did. And Jim took even more. They were both on track to graduate in just a few months and Leonard already had a post lined up on the flagship of the fleet.

The likelihood that they’d be separated was very, very high.

And it didn’t bother him, all right?

It’d be nice, for once, to have his own space and not have to worry about Jim coming in late. Or Jim getting into fistfights – again, for whatever stupid reason – or Jim forgetting to eat. Or any of the stupid risks he took in his survival classes. Or to not have to come home after a late night lab only to find a sock on the door.

It was an old custom, but if a system wasn’t broke, you didn’t fix it.

Plus, Jim had come up with it. Not that Leonard ever used it for himself. How could he when he started the academy fresh off a divorce? And when he finally realized he was over his ex, and that he was mostly just pissed off about the whole affair, he’d fallen in love with his roommate.

Oldest cliché in the book and what the fuck was he supposed to do with that?

“I’m outta my cornfed mind,” he muttered as he walked around their dorm room, picking up after Jim. Not that Jim normally left all that much of a mess, but Leonard had come back already in a foul mood and then he’d walked into  _this._ “What’d a torpedo go off in here or what? What the hell, Jim? Why is your shit everywhere?”

There was no answer, not that Leonard really expected one. He paused in the act of picking up a shirt. He turned it over, his brows knitted together.

It was ripped. And bloody.

He dropped the shirt like it was infected and headed for the one place he hadn’t looked yet. “Jim!”

The bathroom door slid open at his approach and Jim looked up startled at Leonards’ appearance. He was naked except for his boxers and bruises and cuts littered his skin. He had an old-fashioned first aid kit arrayed in front of him and he was…he was…

“Are you  _sewing_ yourself back together? Goddamnit Jim! What is  _wrong_ with you? Why didn’t you ask me for help?”

“Uh…Bones…Hi!” Jim started to grin. It ended in a grimace as it pulled on the cuts of his face. Leonard whipped out his medical tricorder and ran it over Jim, even as he still did a hands-on assessment, his eyes cataloguing every cut and bruise. The tricorder agreed with him, and pointed out a broken rib as well.

Rolling his eyes, Leonard stepped into the cramped space and opened the bag still on his hip. “Looks like your cuts are all surface level, nothing too serious. But we can certainly handle them better with a Dermal Regenerator then something so backwards as  _stitches_.”

“Oh, c’mon, Bones. You know field first aid is required training for all Starfleet – “

“Yeah, for  _emergencies_ , kid. When you have no other options or supplies. They’re not ideal in most circumstances.” Leonard scowled. “What the hell did you do, anyway? Get chased off by someone’s boyfriend -  _again_?”  _Don’t be jealous. Don’t be jealous!_  “Or did you piss off Cadet Uhura? How many times I gotta tell you to leave her alone?”

“Jesus, Bones, what do you really think of me? I had an accident on the scaling wall today, okay? And I didn’t want to worry anyone. And if I went in to dorm medical, they’d take me off my assignment for tomorrow and I’m not passing that up! Do you know how hard it was to get in? If I don’t go, do you realize the next one isn’t scheduled till next  _year?_ I’m not sticking around here for another year, Bones! I  _need_ to get out there!”

“You  _need_ to take care of yourself!” Leonard growled. He ran the regenerator over cut after cut first. They were quick and easy, at least. It was the rib that would be an issue, to be honest.

“This is important!” Jim protested. “And I’m not even hurt that bad, so I don’t understand why you’re so pissed at me. It’s likely we’ll both get a lot more messed up once we’re out on missions, you know.”

“You think that’s going to make me feel  _better?_ You…you…” Leonard spluttered, struggling for words through his anger and fear. Struggled to find a way to make Jim realize that he  _mattered_. More than as the son of George Kirk, but for  _him._

“Bones?” Jim looked up at his roommate in worried confusion and finally Leonard snapped.

The regenerator slipped through suddenly nerveless fingers. His breathing was ragged as he pushed into Jim’s personal space – not that either of them had ever much cared for or felt a need to keep out of each other’s personal space – grasped Jim’s beautiful, bruised face and slammed their lips together.

Jim made a startled sound and went rigid – but only for a second before giving back as good as he got. He surged up, slamming Leonard into the wall behind them. The kiss was hard, but full of feeling and before Leonard knew it, it had softened, gentled. Gentle was never a word he’d have used to describe Jim Kirk but there they were.

He whimpered as Jim’s lips pulled away from his, opening eyes he’d not realized he had closed. Fingers were splayed over his cheeks, rubbing and it was only then that Leonard realized he’d been crying.

“You okay, Len?” Jim whispered.

Leonard’s breathing hitched at the unaccustomed use of his name from Jim and his hands came up to cover Jim’s. “You matter, kid, okay? To me, you matter. Jim, please, you need to take care of yourself.” He pleaded.

“Don’t need to, Bones. I got you.” Jim smiled at him gently. “Though I can’t say I ever expected this.” Jim’s voice was full of wonder. “Didn’t think you’d ever see me this way, that you weren’t ready after…”

“You been pinin’ for me, Jim?” Leonard asked, disbelievingly.

“You kidding? Why do you think I was always hooking up? Was trying to get over you…not that it worked.” Jim sighed and dropped his head against Leonard’s, then winced. “Ow…crap.”

“Yeah, you might want to sit back down and let me look at that rib of yours. Cuts and bruises wasn’t all you did to yourself,” Leonard admonished.

Jim nodded and did, but looked up at his roommate tentatively. “So…are we…?”

Leonard grabbed at his hand and twined their fingers together briefly with a smile. “Sure. But you gotta promise to be more careful.”

“Now, Bones, for you, I will do my damndest, but I can’t promise that, not if I’m going to be captain someday,” Jim said softly.

Leonard rolled his eyes, “Then I guess you’ll just have to keep me around to patch you up.”

“Guess so, Bones.”

“I’m never gettin’ rid of you now, am I?” Leonard said gruffly, but the quirk of his lips betrayed his fondness.

“’fraid not,” Jim winked, then reached up for Leonard’s hand again. “We’re together now. No take backs.”

Leonard’s unoccupied hand faltered and his breathing stuttered. “No take backs?”

“Never.” Jim held his eyes, warmth and seriousness and love. “I don’t give up, ever.”

“You gave up on me before we ever started,” Leonard pointed out.

“Not quite. I resolved never to lose you, however you’d have me. That you wanted the same thing I did was a surprise.” Jim reached up and grabbed a fistful of shirt, tugging it down, bringing Leonard close enough that Jim’s breath warmed Leonard’s face.

Their second kiss was no less passionate then the first, nor was their third and fourth. When they finally parted, both of them smiling at each other giddily, Leonard set about to finishing his self-appointed task of fixing up Jim Kirk.

It was likely to be a lifelong commitment.

He was okay with that.

He’d make sure that it was a long one.


	2. Serious Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bones doesn't have time for Jim's malarkey...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For 2 prompts from Unforth: 
> 
> 10\. ‘If there’s no food, I’m going home.’
> 
> 21\. ‘I’m trying to have a serious conversation with you.’

Jim Kirk stared at his Chief Medical Officer in frustration. “Bones, I’m  _trying t_ o have a serious conversation with you!”

Leonard’s brow rose and his mouth twisted up. “Since when does Jim Kirk do those?”

“Since when – what? Are you kidding me? I have serious conversations with you all the time!” Jim gritted out in exasperation.

Leonard snorted and turned away, fiddling with a piece of equipment Jim only had a very vague idea of what it did. “Right, like that time you threatened to leave a peace talk – risking an international incident, might I add - because they didn’t have any food.”

“That  _was_ serious! Don’t you remember? I was still recovering from the Altarian Flu and I hadn’t eaten in like, a week!” Jim protested. “And I wasn’t  _really_ gonna leave.”

“What about that time you tried to convince Sulu someone was messing with his plants?”

“Well, how was  _I_ supposed to know that that species of flora regularly uprooted itself to take a walk?”

“You could have asked him, seeing as he  _is_ the botany expert on board,” Leonard pointed out reasonably, but his shoulders were tense and his movements stiff.

Jims eyes narrowed. “Wait, wait…Bones…turn around and look at me.”

“I’m busy, Jim,” Leonard snapped out.

Jim reached forward and touched Leonard’s shoulder softly, drawing him around. The doctor looked nervous as he scowled at his captain. Beneath the scowl was something else and Jim focused on that with laser beam precision.

“What do you think is going on here, Bones?” Jim asked softly, trying to catch the doctor’ hazel eyes. Normally straightforward and not one to shy away from direct eye contact, Jim was finding this difficult as Leonard avoided his gaze.

“Nothing is going on here, except you’re likely to complain about the state of your love life, again. Which, really Jim, what makes you think I’m interested in hearing about your conquests or one-night stands?”

Jim stared, mouth agape. “What conquests? Or one-night stands? Jesus, Bones, what do you really think of me?”

Leonard finally looked at Jim, and he could see hurt and confusion and anger roiling through his eyes, though his face was still twisted in the same scowl as usual. “What, that wasn’t you flirting with what’s-her-name, the ambassadors’ daughter only yesterday? Or putting the moves on that pilot from uh…what was it, Rigel, just last week? I thought you were gonna hop into his ship when he finished resupplying. Not to mention when you came back from a week on Risa completely exhausted – I wonder why  _that_ was? Hmmm?”

Jim started laughing. “Oh my god. You’re jealous!”

Leonard’s eyes narrowed further. “Like I said. Not a serious conversation then.” He turned his back and made to walk away and Jim’s laughter abruptly stopped.

“No, but Bones –  _Leonard_  – “ Leonard froze and Jim moved closer. “That’s just it. The flirting was just flirting it didn’t mean anything. I can’t help it, plus, y’know, diplomatic relations and all. The pilot? Sure, he was hot, but you should have  _seen_ the modifications he had on his ship! I had to tell Scotty all about them, see if there were any that made sense to incorporate in our own engine rooms. And Risa? I went mountain climbing and hiking and…maybe got lost in the woods for a couple of days. That’s pretty freaking exhausting.”

Jim lightly tugged at Leonard’s shoulder, sliding his hand down his arm and grasping the doctor’s hand. “Look at me, please?” he asked, softly.

Leonard shivered and turned, slowly. Jim smiled at him. “You’re infuriating, you know that?” Leonards’ brow shot up and his mouth opened and Jim hurried to place a finger over his lips. “Shh, wait, okay?” He paused and took a breath. “Look, when I came in here, I was going to ask you to accompany me to the ambassadorial dinner. As my date. As a  _real_  date, not just an excuse to keep the ambassadors’ daughter at bay. That’s just a bonus.”

“A date?” Leonard stared at Jim incredulously, the doubt clear in every line of his body, his face, his most expressive eyes.

“Yeah, if that’s, I mean…I dunno if you’re interested. You’ve not once dated anyone since I met you and I don’t know if you’re even attracted to men but I couldn’t just not  _try_ anymore. I had to know if this was one sided or not, if I had a chance or if I should just…give up.” Jim’s words flew out in a breathless rush, a perfect babble, a bit of panic trying to rise up. He ruthlessly shoved it down. If he could captain a starship, face down Nero and Khan and Krall – and countless others – he could do this. He could put his heart on the line and wait for his best friend to either embrace it or stomp on it.

“Don’t you dare,” Leonard rasped out. Jim’s heart sank, and his eyes cast downwards, nearly closing before Leonard continued. “Jim Kirk doesn’t give up. That’s not the man I know and love.”

Eyes shooting upwards, Jim looked back at Leonard only the Doctor smiling shyly at him. Hope shot back into Jim’s heart, and he swallowed. “Y-yeah?”

“Yes, you dumbass. For a long time now. Why the hell do you think I’m even out here, huh? I hate space!” Jim could see Leonard gearing up for a long rant or lecture about the dangers of spacefaring but he was too giddy to process it. Grinning boldly now, he touched Leonards’ cheek and the doctor stopped, his words trailing off, both of them getting lost in the other’s eyes.

“You gonna kiss me or what?” Leonard finally asked.

“Not yet,” Jim said, his eyes a twinkle. “Gotta have a proper date first.”

“Oh, is that how it’s gonna be?” Leonards’ lips twitched up in a smirk.

“You bet your ass, that’s how it’s gonna be.” Jim’s grin only grew wider and Leonards’ eyes softened even more.

They were so lost in each other that neither noticed Chapel walk into the room, shut her mouth, roll her eyes and walk right back out.

She had some bets to collect on.

Finally.


	3. Don't Say "Uh Oh!"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. McCoy never thought he'd see the day he _wished_ for a transporter...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another prompt from Dmsilvis - around 900 words and so far one of my faves :D

The shuttlecraft shuddered and Leonard winced, but his eyes remained open, unable to look away from the obstacle course Jim was currently threading.

“Shit! What was that?”

“Nothing, Bones. Don’t worry about it,” Jim said. Far from showing fear, he looked ahead with determination and possibly a little bit of glee.  _Jesus. The man was insane._

A more violent shudder ripped through the small craft again and Jim muttered, his hands flying across the console.

Leonard blinked. “Oh no Jim. Don’t say ‘uh oh’! You  _can’t_ say ‘uh oh’ when we’re stuck in a tin can in the middle of a mine field!”

“Not a minefield, Bones,” Jim reminded him absently. “And uh, don’t wanna worry you, but can you check how far away the Enterprise is?”

Leonard huffed and turned back to the screen. The shuttlecraft was shuddering near constantly now, but he kept his hands steady as he checked their position versus the starship. He heaved a sigh of relief. He couldn’t remember a time when he was so incredibly happy to see a spaceship as he was at that moment.

He frowned as his eyes caught on another readout. “Jim, did we lose the starboard stabilizer?”

“Not now, Bones!” Jim said as the next shudder became so violent as to nearly throw them from their seats.

“Why the hell don’t these things have seat belts?” Leonard muttered. “She’s not too much further, Jim,” he called out louder.

“Tell Spock to beam us in as soon as we’re out of the radiation field.”

Leonard nodded, then froze. “Beaming?” he croaked, his fingers still moving, at least, as his brain fought to catch up to Jim’s words. “But we’re almost there!” he protested.

“Uh, well, we lost more than the stabilizer after these last few hits,” Jim said with a sheepish look back at the doctor. “Shuttles not gonna make it, Bones,” Jim said, confirming Leonard’s worst fears.

Mechanically, he turned back to the console and sent the message out to the Enterprise like Jim asked, repeating it over and over as Jim tried to maneuver closer with a ship that was losing ground – and air, Leonard now realized.

“Shit, shit, shit,” he muttered. “ _We’re_  not gonna make it, Jim!”

“Trust me, Bones! Don’t you trust me?” Jim implored.

“I’m out here, aren’t I?” Leonard grumped.

“I love you too, Bones,” Jim said absently as he rolled the craft between a few more pieces of debris.

Leonard blinked and looked at Jim. He’d said it so matter of factly, like it wasn’t a rock tossed into Leonard’s pond, setting ripples careening through him. He stared at his captain – his best friend, the man he’d fallen in love with when he thought he’d lost that part of himself in the divorce – in wonder.

Had he meant it? Jim often swanned off from one relationship (or one-night stand) to the next like it was no big deal, the inevitable breakups never seeming to phase him.

The silence made Jim look up from the console at last, his hands stilling, the shuttlecraft finally unable to move forward ay further under its own power, simply drifting, at the mercy of the debris surrounding it.

“Yeah, Leonard, I mean it,” Jim said quietly to Leonards’ unasked question. He’d joke about Jim being a mind reader if he wasn’t left so flabbergasted.

No longer preoccupied with keeping the ship going or as long as he could, Jim turned to face Leonard and leaned into his personal space, cupping his face in his hands. Leonard was so lost in the easy kiss – which he could not tell you who’d initiated – that he didn’t even register the familiar and dreaded tingle of the transporter at work until he and Jim fell on their asses at the sudden lack of seats, their lips reluctantly separating with a wet sound.

A chuckle ran through the room and Leonard sighed as Jim helped him up. “This is all your fault, y’know,” he muttered, rubbing at his posterior.

“Aww, c’mon Bones! I’ll give you a massage, make it feel  _all_ better,” Jim said, grinning, the twinkle in his eyes almost too much for Leonard.

“That’s what the dermal regen is for, Jim,” Leonard groused, trying hard to keep his dignity as the two of them left the transporter room.

“Welcome back!” Pavel called after them. The door hissed shut and Leonard groaned.

“I hope you weren’t planning to keep this a secret, Jimmy-boy, ‘cause that’ll be all over the ship before we reach sickbay.”

“Bridge first, Bones. We’ve got some unfinished business to deal with,” Jim noted, breaking out into a jog. He grinned back at Leonard as they raced through the corridors. “And no, I wasn’t planning on hiding anything, as long as you’re on board with this – us?”

For the first time, uncertainty crossed Jim’s features and Bones took the opportunity to reach for his shoulder when they reached the turbolift and ducked inside, pausing briefly as it sped through the ship.

“I got ya now, Jim. There ain’t no getting rid of me now. No more hiding or running – “

“Unless it’s together—" Jim supplied.

“Unless it’s together,” Leonard agreed. This time it was the doctor who leaned forward to kiss his captain, and he didn’t stop till the lift doors opened and spilled them out onto a knowing (and smirking, god damnit) bridge.

Maybe space wasn’t so bad after all. It had brought him one Jim Kirk, after all.


End file.
